


New Year’s Day

by Ivyaugust



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Confessions, F/M, Jealousy, M/M, New Year's Eve, mentions of Jeff/Annie but it’s not there because ew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28472805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivyaugust/pseuds/Ivyaugust
Summary: Just a quick lil thing I wrote as a New Years gift to my lil trobed server. Thank you all for making my 2020 worth it. You all truly got me through it.
Relationships: Britta Perry/Jeff Winger, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Annie Edison
Comments: 19
Kudos: 84





	New Year’s Day

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick lil thing I wrote as a New Years gift to my lil trobed server. Thank you all for making my 2020 worth it. You all truly got me through it.

Abed was used to being the odd man out. He had considered bringing a date to their New Year’s Eve party that evening, but he really didn’t want to, and found himself procrastinating until it was too late. At first he didn’t mind, really. He had Troy, and even if they didn’t kiss anyone at midnight, they would still have an awesome time together, and they probably wouldn’t be the only ones not being kissed. But then Shirley brought Andre to their party, and Britta and Jeff’s arrival was loud and tipsy. They hung all over each other, each declaring the other as their date for the evening. But they’re not dating. They made that _very_ clear. 

Abed knew that Annie wasn’t happy about this. She had told him in confidence the night before that she was hoping that Jeff would kiss her again, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and her eyes full of hope. Abed understood where she was coming from, but he could only sit and nod understandingly, holding his tongue to prevent hurt feelings. He knew that Annie had feelings for Jeff, and he knew that Jeff wished he didn’t have feelings for Annie. But he also knew that, any way you slice it, Jeff and Annie’s relationship was bad news. For all of them. Besides, his plan from the beginning had been for Jeff and Britta to be the romantic leads, and he almost certainly didn’t approve of Jeff screwing with the plot without asking first. 

Okay, so Shirley, Jeff and Britta all had someone to kiss. At least he, Troy, and Annie were still stag. 

Until Annie caught sight of Jeff and Britta. Abed could basically see the veins in her forehead popping out and steam coming out of her ears. Abed watched as she grabbed Troy by the wrist, stomping off to the bathroom with him close behind. 

When they emerged, Annie looked smug and Troy was quiet. He spent a lot of the party at Annie’s side after that. When he did finally get a chance to have Troy to himself, it was brief and bittersweet. 

“What’s up, Troy?” He asked him curiously when they had a minute together at their dining room table. Troy twisted the unopened beer bottle over and over in his hands. 

“Not much. I don’t know, tonight is weird,” He said awkwardly. 

Abed could tell that Troy was chewing on his cheek. “Weird how?” He asked, hoping that Troy trusted him enough to tell him what was going on. 

Troy sighed. “Annie wants me to kiss her at midnight, which is totally fine, I don’t mind that. But I know she’s just trying to make Jeff jealous, which sucks a lot. It makes me feel… I don’t know… used?” 

Abed frowned. “Then why are you going along with it?”

“I don’t know, Abed! Because she’s my friend? Because she’s clearly sad and I want to help?” He sounded really upset, but Abed didn’t know how to help, so he just nodded. 

“I’m sorry. If you don’t want to kiss her, then you shouldn’t.”

Troy just shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t care about that. I just don’t want to be used to make someone else jealous.”

Abed was quiet. “I’m sorry.” He said lamely. 

Troy's eyes turned soft. “Don’t be sorry, you didn’t do anything… I just.. I wish… ugh. Nevermind. It’s stupid.”

Abed almost reassured him that he could tell him anything, but before he could say anything, Annie grabbed Troy again, pulling him off to join her on the couch. Abed watched with sad eyes as Annie wrapped her arms around Troy, nestling into his shoulder. 

He knew Annie wasn’t trying to hurt Troy, and she definitely wasn’t trying to hurt Abed. He didn’t want to think of her as a bad person. But it was hard when she was sat pressed up against his best friend, using him like he was a chess piece in a one sided game against Jeff. 

The night got progressively weirder for Abed when Pierce showed up with an escort. That’s when he felt really alone. Not only that, but he was now the only sober person at the party, and it was getting depressing to watch Annie hang all over Troy, watching Jeff out of the corner of her eye the entire time. 

When the clock struck midnight, Abed watched from the dining room table as all his friend’s embraced each other. Jeff and Britta shared a sloppy kiss, broken by big drunken smiles. Shirley and Andre gave each other a modest peck, wishing each other a happy new year. He avoided watching as Pierce kissed his date. But his stomach churned as Annie stood on her tiptoes to press her lips to Troy’s, both of their eyes shut tightly, Troy’s nose scrunched up in a cute little way that made Abed feel sick with jealousy. 

The rest of the party felt like a blur. Abed saw himself from outside his body. His friends moved around him in fast motion, laughing and drinking and talking about their hopes for the year. He hated feeling left out, and granted most of the time when he felt this way, it’s because he allowed himself to, but that didn’t make it any easier. He found himself getting quieter and shrinking more and more into the background until everyone had forgotten he was there. Or so it felt, anyways. 

As the night died down, Britta and Jeff took up residency in Troy’s top bunk, and Annie called Shirley and Andre a cab. Pierce’s escort drove him home, reassuring Annie that she’d only had half a beer and that she was fine to take care of things, considering how much Pierce had payed her just to be his date for the evening. 

Abed found himself hanging around the living room aimlessly, waiting for Troy to join him to brush their teeth together, the way they always did, but Annie had other plans. 

“You can sleep in my bed with me if you want to, Troy. I mean, it really sucks that Jeff and Britta took your bed.” 

Abed wished he hadn’t heard that, so he turned to go change into his pajamas and brush his teeth by himself for the first time in months, trying to completely ignore the situation unraveling in front of him. _Happy new year, Abed…_ he thought to himself as he took Troy’s toothbrush out of their shared cup and placed it next to Annie’s waterpik, staring at it wistfully. For a moment he worried that he was being overdramatic, but then he decided that desperate times call for dramatic measures, and he left the toothbrush. 

He dragged himself back down the hallway, prepared to spend the night sleeping underneath Jeff and Britta with his headphones on, but when he got to the living room he was surprised at what he found. 

Troy was dragging their sleeping bags into the dreamatorium. His arms were completely full with pillows and blankets, and he struggled to see over them. Abed rushed to help with the armful. 

“What are you doing? I thought you were sleeping in Annie’s room?” 

“What? No way. That just feels too weird. Besides, this will be fun! Like a sleepover!” Troy said, sounding authentically enthusiastic for the first time that night. 

“Isn’t every night kinda like a sleepover? We sleep in a fort.” Abed said flatly, wondering just what any of this really meant. They dropped all their bedding onto the floor of the dreamatorium simultaneously. 

Troy shrugged. “I guess, but this is cooler. Look!” He gestured to the fairy lights strung around the room and the glitter and confetti on the floor. “It’s a special occasion, so we will have a special sleepover.” 

Abed smiles softly. “Okay. Let’s do it.” 

They spent a few minutes constructing their makeshift beds before heading back out to the living room so that Troy could brush his teeth as well. 

Abed shuffled around quietly, picking up empty beer, wine, and champagne bottles off the tables and gently placing them in neat rows on the kitchen counter. A couple minutes later, Troy joined him, cleaning up plates of cake, placing the dirty dishes in the sink. 

Abed swept the kitchen floor, watching Troy work to rinse icing and wine stains off of the dishes. The apartment was mostly quiet, aside from Jeff and Britta’s muffled giggles from the blanket fort, and the water running from the sink. 

Abed finally broke the silence. “So. How were things with Annie?”

Troy turned around, surprised. “Hm? Oh. Not bad, actually. We talked for a while. I told her how she was making me feel, and she actually apologized. Said that she hadn’t meant to put me in the middle of her and Jeff, and that I didn’t deserve that. She also said that her New Year's resolution was to be a better friend and to stop letting her feelings for Jeff get in her way. I’m actually happy for her.” He continued washing as he spoke. 

“That’s good.” Abed answered. “So are you guys going to be a couple now?” 

“What?!” Troy shut the water off and turned around. “Annie?! Me?? No no. Abed, that’s crazy, she’s like my sister.”

“But you kissed her.” 

“Yeah, but it wasn’t like THAT!” He exclaimed. 

Abed hummed. “Okay.” He tried not to sound disbelieving, but he wasn’t very good at hiding it. 

“Cmon Abed, what’s gotten into you? I know we didn’t spend a lot of time together tonight, and I’m sorry. But I’m trying to make it up to you, and I feel like you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you, Troy. It’s hard to explain.” He stopped sweeping and fiddled with the broom handle a bit. 

“Can you try?” Troy asked softly. Abed could tell he only wanted to help, but he wasn’t really sure how Troy could possibly help with this. 

“I don’t know, Troy, I guess I just got jealous.” Abed said, defeated. 

“Oh. _Oh._ ”

“Yeah.” Abed turned his eyes back to the floor, going back to sweeping. He had really wanted to avoid this conversation with Troy for as long as possible. He certainly hadn’t wanted it to be the first thing he did this year. 

“Like… you just wanted my attention..? Or…” Troy asked hesitantly, like he was hoping for one answer or another. Abed hated that he didn’t know which one it was. 

“Or.” Abed said simply. “I guess I just really wanted someone to kiss me at midnight, which seems trivial, I know. But I couldn't help feeling… alone.”

Troy looked sad. He set the plate down in the sink, drying his hands on the towel on the counter top and turning so he was facing Abed. 

“Someone? Or.. me in particular?” He still sounded like he couldn’t process what was happening. 

Abed could basically feel the sadness dripping from his eyes. “I think you already know the answer to that.” 

And then suddenly Troy was closing the space between them. He lifted his arms, taking Abed’s face in his hands and tilting his head up to reach Abed’s lips, and then suddenly it was happening. Troy was kissing him. 

In real time, the fireworks had ended hours ago, but Abed was finally feeling them right now. His brain was on fire and wrinkled and bubbling over like a too-hot pot of water, and he figured that if he could see himself that he would have stars and birds spinning around his head. Troy’s hands moved down and his fists grasped at Abed’s pajama top tightly, pulling him as close as possible. 

When they finally pulled away from each other, they just stared at each other. Troy's eyes were searching Abed’s anxiously, waiting for a reaction, but the only thing Abed could summon from his throat was “woah…” 

Troy cracked a smile at that. “Woah is right. That.. was awesome.” 

They stood there for a moment longer, holding each other close and smiling, before Troy began walking backwards, pulling Abed along with him by his shirt. 

“Cmon, let’s go to bed. I want to do that again.” 

Abed smiled, trailing after Troy. “Yeah… cool…” he smiled, dazed. “Cool cool cool.”


End file.
